It’s not long now until one of London’s busiest thoroughfares, Oxford Street, will have a 1km stretch closed to cars — from 26 October, to be exact. But did you know plans are underway to pedestrianise another iconic part of London?
Unfortunately, those plans have been delayed, meaning that Londoners will have to wait even longer to walk carefreely through the heart of London.
Pedestrianisation plans for London’s West End
Earlier this year it was revealed that streets in the West End could be closed off from vehicular traffic, creating space for a new public plaza. The plans set out to make Regent Street St James’s, near Piccadilly Circus, completely pedestrianised and to enlarge the pedestrianised space around Piccadilly Circus itself.
The proposal aims to create more space to sit in the capital, plant more trees and improve traffic flow with improvements like wider pavements.
Regeneration of the Regent Street, Haymarket and Piccadilly Circus area is very important to the city, as it supports 94k jobs and around 70 million people visiting Regent Street each year. This new vision for this area will ensure it doesn’t fall behind on the global stage.
You might be thinking, this all sounds lovely, so what exactly is the hold-up?
Plans pushed back
The original timelines for the plans would mean that a decision would be made this autumn, with construction due to take place in early 2029.
The plans have now been stalled, with Westminster City Council and the Crown Estate, who are spearheading the plans, announcing that there will be another public consultation taking place in 2027.
Westminster Labour lost control of the council in May this year and has criticised the new Conservative council for delaying this “once-in-a-generation opportunity to raise standards, improve traffic flow and create more and better traffic-free space for everyone.”
So, even though it might be a while before we see a regeneration of this area, at least we can enjoy the new pedestrianised Oxford Street very soon.
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